Fabric-decorating package



NOV. 19, 1968 I mscH. I 3,411,617

FABRIC-DECORATING PACKAGE Filed Feb. 8, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG:

INVENTOR Amway H/RSCI/ Nov. 19, 1968 l. K. HIRSCH FABRIC-DECORATING PACKAGE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 8, 1968 INVENTOR l Al/VGDOA/ HMSCH 4 l g XTTORNEYS United States Patent 3,411,617 FABRIC-DECORATING PACKAGE I. Kingdon Hirsch, Beverly Hills, Calif., assignor to Patrice, Inc., a corporation of New York Filed Feb. 8, 1968, Ser. No. 704,099 8 Claims. (Cl. 2061.7)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Package includes stretcher, paint tubes, and cover. Stretcher comprises base having circular wall and upstanding peripheral wall, and a ring tightly surrounding peripheral wall. Tubes of paint rest on inner face of circular wall. Transparent plastic cover carries formations retaining tubes in predetermined locations, and has peripheral wall surrounding the ring. Cover peripheral wall may have projection which snaps beneath bead of ring or base to hold cover and stretcher together.

This invention relates to decorating textile fabrics with paint, and more particularly to a merchandise package including all the paraphernalia needed to so decorate a fabric.

Fabric decoration of the type to which this invention relates is in itself well known. It involves the use of a stretcher comprising a pan-like base including a circular wall and a peripheral wall projecting perpendicularly from the circular wall, and a separate ring adapted to resiliently surround the outer face of the peripheral wall. The fabric to be decorated is draped over the outer face of the base circular wall and an annular portion of it hangs down adjacent to the peripheral wall. The ring,

which is resiliently biased to reduce its diameter, is then snapped over the fabric and base whereby the annular fabric portion is sandwiched tightly between the ring and the peripheral wall and the area of the fabric to be decorated is pulled taut over the circular wall. The fabric area to be decorated may have a design imprinted on it to serve as a guide for applying the paint, and the circular wall serves to support this area while paint is applied to it. Paint is conveniently supplied in tubes having applicator heads, which may be ball-point writing tips. In addition, a layer of absorbent material is usually placed between the base and the fabric to absorb any paint which filters through the fabric.

Up to the present time, stretchers and paint tubes of the type described have ordinarily been sold separately. It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a single package incorporating all the materials needed to decorate a textile fabric with paint.

It is another object of the invention to provide such a package wherein the stretcher forms part of the enclosure housing the paint tubes, and wherein the paint tubes are positively retained in an attractive display condition.

It is a further object of the invention to provide such a package wherein the parts may be assembled extremely rapidly by hand, thus obviating the need for expensive packaging machinery.

To achieve these objectives, the invention provides a cover of transparent plastic having a circular wall and a perpendicularly-projecting peripheral wall adapted to surround the ring-carrying peripheral wall of the stretcher. Means are provided for interengaging the cover and stretcher, the means preferably being integral projections extending inwardly from the cover peripheral wall and adapted to snap beneath one of the beads formed along the edges of the stretcher base and ring. The circular cover wall is formed with a cavity, or preferably cavities, shaped to reasonably snugly accommodate paint tubes. Thus, with the paint tubes located in the cavities, and the cover inice terengaged with the stretcher, the inner face of the stretcher circular wall maintains the tubes within the cavities.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, in which reference is made to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing all the components of a package according to this invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the package;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view along line 33 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary elevational view of the package.

The package illustrating the present invention includes a conventional stretcher comprising a base 10 and a cooperable ring 11, both of which are usually formed of metal. The base 10 is a pan-like element including a circular wall 12 integral with a continuous upstanding wall 13 projecting perpendicularly from the periphery of the circular wall. Along its free edge, the peripheral wall 13 is formed with a bead 14. The ring 11 is a strip 15, formed with beads 16 and 17 :along its longitudinal edges, bent into a hoop shape with its end faces in abutting relation. The ends of a tension spring 18 are secured to the opposite ends of the strip 15, the spring urging the ends of the strip toward each other and hence urging the ring 11 to assume its smallest possible diameter. The diameter of the ring can, of course, be increased by stretching the spring. An arcuate member 19 having a C-shaped crosssection slidably engages the ends of the strip 15 and guides their movements.

A layer of absorbent material 22 is usually provided, the material 22 having a circular contour a little greater in diameter than the wall 12. Thus, when the material 22. is placed over the outer face (lower face in FIGS. 1 and 3) of the wall 12, a margin of the material may be turned against the outer face of the peripheral wall 13. Consequently, when the ring 11 is pushed orf to the base 10, involving a degree of stretching of spring 18, the material 22 is pulled taut over the outer face of wall 12 and its margin is sandwiched tightly between the ring 11 and peripheral wall 13 (see FIG. 3). When the stretcher is to be used, the base and ring are disassembled, the fabric to be decorated draped over the base and material 22, and the ring pushed onto the base to sandwichpoth the margin of material 22 and the fabric to be decorated between the ting 11 and peripheral wall 13. j-

The remaining parts of the illustrated jpackage include conventional ball-point paint tubes 23, and a cover 24 of special character. Although three paint tubes are shown, obviously a fewer or greater number may be provided. The cover 24 is made of a suitable transparent plastic, and may be formed from an initially flat sheet of material such as by a vacuum forming operation. The material has a thickness just sufficient to make the cover self-sustaining.

The cover 24 includes a circular wall 25 terminating at its periphery in an annular ridge 26 and a depending wall 27, the interior dimension of the ridge being just sufficient to accommodate the peripheral wall 13 and beads 16 and 17 of ring 11 (see FIG. 3). The peripheral wall 27 is formed with a series of peripherally spaced-apart and inwardly extending projections 28. The projections 28 are spaced from the top of ridge 26 so that they snap beneath one of the beads, in the present example the bead 16 of the ring 11, to interlock the cover 24 and stretcher 10, 11 when the parts are assembled.

Walls 31 project out of the plane of the circular cover wall 25 and define tube-shaped cavities for accommodating the paint tubes 23. As may be seen in FIG. 3, each wall 31 partially surrounds a tube 23, and the tube is maintained in its cavity by engagement with the inner face of the circular wall 12 of base 10. The cavities are so sized and contoured that the tubes are not permitted to slide along the inner face of wall 12, whereby they are retained in the desired array, andthey are not permitted to rotate, so that the side of each tube bearing decoration and a trademark always faces away from the wall 12 and may be viewed through the transparent cover by the prospective purchaser. At one point along its free edge, the peripheral wall 27 is formed with a tab 32 having an aperture 33, by means of which the assembled package may be hung for display.

The package components may be conveniently assembled in the following manner: first the base 10, ring 11, and absorbent material 22 are assembled as described above to form the stretcher. Thereafter, during assembly of the stretcher, tubes 23, and cover 24, the parts are inverted with respect to their position in FIG. 3. The cover is placed on a support surface with its open side up, and tubes 23 are dropped into the cavities defined by walls 31 so that their sides intended for viewing face down. Then, the assembled stretcher is placed over the cover 24 with the beads 14, 16, and 17 in registry with the ridge 26, and pushed downwardly until the projections 28 snap over the bead 16. The inherent resilience of the cover material permits the wall 27 to expand so that the projections 28 can move past the bead 16. The package is then complete and ready for display.

If desired, a circular sheet (not shown) of advertising or decorative material may be placed between the tubes 23 and the inner face of the wall 12, the sheet being veiwable through the transparent cover 24.

The invention has been shown and described in preferred form only, and by way of example, and many variations may be made in the invention which will still be comprised within its spirit. It is understood, therefore,

that the invention is not limited to any specific form or embodiment except insofar as such limitations are included in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A merchandise package incorporating materials for use in decorating fabrics with paint, comprising:

(a) a stretcher including:

(I) a base having a circular wall and an upstanding peripheral wall projecting from said circular wall, and

(II) a ring tightly surrounding the outer face of said peripheral wall,

(b) at least one tube of paint having an applicator head at one end resting on the inner face of said base circular wall,

(c) a transparent plastic cover having a circular top wall in opposed relation to the inner face of said base circular wall, a peripheral wall surrounding said ring, and means carreid by said top wall for retaining said paint tube in a predetermined location and orientation, and

(d) means cooperating with said stretcher and cover for holding said stretcher and cover together.

2. A merchandise package as defined in claim 1 including a layer of absorbent material overlying the outer face of said base circular wall, the margins of said material overlying the outer face of said base peripheral wall and being sandwiched between said base peripheral wall and said ring.

3. A merchandise package as defined in claim 1 wherein said means (d) includes a projection extending radially inwardly from said cover peripheral wall.

4. A merchandise package as defined in claim 3 wherein said base peripheral wall and said ring are formed with peripheral beads at their edges, and said projection snaps beneath one of said beads when said cover and stretcher are interengaged.

5. A merchandise package as defined in claim 1 wherein said tube-retaining means are walls extending out of the plane of said cover top wall and partially surrounding said tube.

6. A merchandise package as defined in claim 5 wherein said means (d) includes a projection extending radially inwardly from said peripheral wall, and said (i) cover top and peripheral walls, (ii) said tube-retaining means, and (iii) said means (d) are integrally formed of molded plastic.

7. A merchandise package as defined in claim 1 including means carried by said cover for mounting said package on a support, whereby said package may be displayed.

8. A merchandise package as defined in claim 7 wherein said mounting means is a tab integral with said cover, said tab having an aperture.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS JAMES B, MARBERT, Primary Examiner. 

